Richard Simmons spent more than a decade working in the trades and developing expertise before he started Peak Home Exteriors. His years working with different contractors, crews, clients, and trades provided a close look at both the work itself and how contracting businesses were run. Along the way, he saw opportunities to create a better experience for both the people doing the work and the clients trusting them with their homes. In 2020, he decided to test those ideas by building a different kind of exterior contracting company.
The Work That Came First
Richard’s introduction to exterior work started in high school, helping a contractor with painting jobs around Ann Arbor. After graduating, he joined a roofing company and worked for over a decade before transitioning to siding installation. He was good at the work and found it satisfying, but after four years, he had seen enough of how the business operated to understand what was possible if things were structured differently. He knew the crew could perform better with less turnover if they had consistent hours, weekends off, paid vacation, and straightforward communication with clients. This way of operating was not the industry standard, but Richard believed these principles would make a meaningful difference for both his crew and the clients trusting them
What He Set Out to Build
After extensive planning and some encouragement from his wife, who runs her own business, Richard launched Peak Home Exteriors in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The timing may have been unusual, but the demand for contractors during that period was strong. The company started with a broader range of services, including decking and window work, before Richard intentionally narrowed the focus to siding and exterior trim, with gutters, soffit, and fascia when the project scope calls for it.
From the beginning, the company was structured around higher professional standards, a better client experience, and a better work-life balance for his team. At Peak, crews work consistent hours with no weekends, and the company operates according to a handbook shaped over time with input from the team. It covers paid vacation, paid holidays, and the professional standards the company holds itself to.
Most of the people on the install crew worked together before joining Peak, and Richard has known them for close to 15 years. That continuity is a direct result of the company Richard chose to build, with deliberate attention to the people doing the work as well as the work itself.
The Craft and the Materials
Exterior materials have changed considerably over the past few decades. Aluminum and vinyl still have their place, but the range of available materials has expanded to include fiber cement, composite, PVC, engineered wood, steel, and thermally modified wood. Each performs differently and requires specific installation techniques with close attention to manufacturer requirements.
Peak holds certifications from multiple manufacturers, earned through hands-on training programs that go beyond general technique. The details that determine whether a system performs as intended over time, including clearances between siding and rooflines, expansion gaps, and installation sequences, are the focus of these training programs. Manufacturers also provide installation experts who are available to visit job sites directly, a resource the Peak team can draw on when working with materials that demand close attention.
That knowledge becomes particularly relevant on Riemco projects, where Peak’s crew has worked with materials such as thermally modified wood. The material blends the character of natural wood with engineered durability, using heat rather than chemicals to improve resistance to insects and moisture. Peak’s crew has worked with it, understands the installation requirements, and Richard sees that kind of material-specific expertise as part of what the company is built on.
How the Partnership with Riemco Developed
Peak works with several custom home builders across the region, each with a different organizational structure and scale. Riemco brings a high level of organization to their projects, with dedicated designers, project managers, and a well-established process at every stage of the build. For Peak, that structure creates a clear framework for doing its part of the work well.
The working relationship between Riemco and Peak has developed over the past four years into something that goes beyond a trade arrangement. “We trust each other,” Richard says. “We know what to expect.” That trust was built through shared projects and the recognition, over time, that both companies hold similar professional values. Riemco’s expectations of its trade partners, including thorough preparation, consistent communication, and genuine care for the finished product, are the same standards Richard built Peak around.
How a Riemco and Peak work Together
Before installation starts, the Peak team meets with Riemco’s designers and project managers to align on specifications, timeline expectations, and material takeoffs. Peak’s team lead is often part of the takeoff review, where the two companies review their material lists together before Riemco handles the ordering. When the Peak crew arrives on site, the materials are already there, and the expectations have been established.
The Peak Standard for Communication
When Richard describes what distinguishes Peak from other crews, he comes back to communication. His standard is more than regular contact with clients. It’s about being transparent from the beginning and maintaining that communication throughout the project. When difficulties arise, and they inevitably do in construction, Richard discusses options before they become problems. For clients on a Riemco build, they know what to expect from both companies because expectations have been established from the start.
Richard’s next step in growing Peak is to expand by adding a second crew. He has a clear picture of what the company looks like when a dedicated project manager handles the production he currently oversees. His growth strategy is deliberate: he wants to replicate what is working well before expanding it, building on the foundation he has spent years putting in place.
The partnership with Riemco reflects what he set out to build. Both companies operate on the understanding that taking caring of clients, supporting the team, and doing the work correctly are not separate priorities. They are connected parts of the same standard.
